


Family is what you make it

by nobody_is_typing



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Adoptive Parents - Freeform, Adoptive family, F/M, Fluff, Smut in the future, light angst in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21676546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobody_is_typing/pseuds/nobody_is_typing
Summary: You chose to adopt Nero, to become the mother of this perfect little boy, and it was the best thing you've ever done. When a man comes into your life claiming to be the uncle who is looking for your son's father, he's going to learn that you'll do anything to protect your baby.
Relationships: Dante (Devil May Cry)/Reader, Dante (Devil May Cry)/You
Comments: 23
Kudos: 115





	1. Stranger Danger

You hear Nero’s squeaky shoes walk towards the end of the isle and you look over at him, making sure he doesn’t turn the corner before you return to your phone call. “We can’t talk about S-a-n-t-a right now, I’m out with the kiddo. But we can text tonight about our Thanksgiving plans, you do know I have a house we can host it at, right?”

Your friend laughs and you can practically see her head tilted back and shoulders shaking. “Babe, we are so not making you do all of that. You’re the only one with a kid and we’re definitely not putting anything extra onto your plate.” 

“You do realize I made the choice to have Nero, right? He wasn’t an accident.” You roll your eyes, reading the label of a generic juice box and comparing it to the name brand… Maybe Nero won’t notice if you switch them. 

“Yeah, but no one wants you to stress out, you’re a great mom and no one wants to mess with you.” 

“Why would that mess with me?” Tossing the box into the cart you glance over at Nero again, he’s making his toy cars race across the empty shelves as he purses his tiny lips to make accompanying noises. 

“Well, it’s just that people want to get drunk, ya know? And you two don’t stay for very long so it’s more fun after you guys leave.”

“So. What I’m hearing is that everyone waits for my son and I to leave because we’re an inconvenience in your plans.” Your voice gets lower, turning your face so Nero can’t see the irritation etched into your features right now. 

“That’s not how I meant it.” The line is silent for a while as you calm yourself down. 

“Yes, well, that’s certainly how it sounded. We’re going to make other plans this year, we can talk about Christmas closer to, but for right now I’d really rather just take my son to Chuck E. Cheese.” And you hang up on her before she can reply. Maybe you’re overreacting but being told people are grateful when you leave a party with your child is definitely something you weren’t expecting to hear, nor were you wanting to hear it. 

“-and Mommy gave me ‘dis cause I was brave!” Slipping your phone into your jacket, you turn back around and see a grown man kneeling in front of Nero, listening intently as your son balances five cars in his little hands and tries to name them all. 

“Where is your Mommy?” The man asks, looking past you and behind himself, into the other isle. You don’t blame him, you and Nero look nothing alike, which is understandable since he is doesn’t share a single gene with you. And you’re grateful for it, you don’t think you’d ever be able to produce such an adorable, well-behaved child.

“Mommy!” He shouts, quickly turning and running towards you on slightly unsteady feet, his shoes squeaking the entire way. It makes you smile as he reaches for you, hands still full of cars. You open your purse after you pick him up and allow him to dump them all into it. “‘Dis Mommy!”

“Well, hello.” The man stands, touching two fingers to his temple in greeting. 

“Did you make a friend, sweetheart?” You ask your son, smiling politely. 

“He likes my hair!” Nero grins, placing both hands on top of his silver head. The same color that the man in front of you has, the same thick lashes, the same grey eyes. 

“Does he have special hair, too?” Nero nods quickly, looking down at you from his cute little nose. It makes you smile genuinely this time. 

“Where’s his dad?” The smile is gone.

“He’s not around.” You set Nero into the cart, buckling him in as he goes through your purse, now absolutely ignorant of anything outside of him or his cars. 

“Oh. Well, do you know where I could find him?” 

“I don’t, we aren’t in contact.” 

“Can you tell me where you saw him last?”

“I’ve never met him, actually.” This takes the man by surprise, his thick eyebrows arch up as he leans back. 

“So you’re not actually his mom?” 

Turning your back to Nero so he can’t hear you, you keep one hand on the cart and point the other at the man’s chest. “I don’t know what you want or who you are but you leave my son out of it… Please.” He doesn’t say anything. Not as you turn around. Not as you walk away. Not at all.


	2. Listen, please.

Nero’s already managed to smear syrup into the fine hairs on the top of his head, shoving his hands through it until it was slicked back as though with gel. He’s got bits of cut-up blueberries and melted chocolate chips stuck to his chubby cheeks and he couldn’t be happier. 

“Mommy!” Nero says around a mouthful of waffle, heeding your warning to not eat too many pieces at once. “Moo peese!” He holds up his sippy cup, swinging it around in his left hand as he grins at you. Smiling back, you take the cup from him and quickly fill it up with milk before moving to hand it back to him. Once Nero had learned that milk comes from cows, he refused to call it anything else… it was absolutely adorable.

“What do you say now?” You ask him as you tighten the lid and place it on his high chair tray. He’s already answering you before you can set it down in front of him. 

“Tank!” Nero takes a long drink before setting it back down and cramming a pile of blueberries into his mouth. You watch him for a moment, taking note of how much love you feel as you simply watch this messy little boy eat his Saturday morning breakfast. “Mommy? Doo doo doo doo doo!” Nero wiggles in his seat, his version of dancing, as he sings the Baby Shark song, hands squeezing a mess of waffles and syrup between his fingers.

“Absolutely, sweetheart.” You quickly flip your laptop open and begin the song, the ten-hour version of it, so that the two of you can sing and dance as you clean the kitchen. Because, although you might not admit to many people, you genuinely like the song. 

After a few renditions of the song, there’s a knock on your front door. You turn off the sink and quickly dry your hands, thinking that maybe it’s your friend coming to apologize for what she insinuated yesterday. You heap a few more chunks of waffle onto Nero’s tray before you go to answer the door. He squeals happily and kicks his little feet, already moving to grab them. You smile again, turning the lock on the door, leaving the chain in place. You don’t have a peephole the chain is all you really have against an intrude. Which is exactly who is at your door, as far as you’re concerned. Your eyes go wide and you inhale sharply, mind immediately racing to figure out how you can keep your baby safe from this man. 

“Hey! Hold on!” He holds his hands up, sticking his foot in the door before you can slam it shut in his face. 

“Leave us alone!” You hiss, baring your teeth as you struggle with him.

“I’m sorry, listen, I wouldn’t be bothering you if it wasn’t important.”

“You leave my baby the fuck alone.” The heel of your foot proceeds to kick him in the shin as hard as you can, clearly not doing any damage as the two of you struggle with the door. 

“Y/N! I didn’t know you knew Dante!” Your neighbor shouts from the sidewalk.

“What?” 

“Hey, Sammy! What’s up?” Dante waves at your neighbor, foot still stuck in your door, the smile on his face completely relaxed. Like he isn’t trying to break into your apartment. “I just came to return her phone, she dropped it at the store yesterday.” His glove-clad hand quickly slips into his jacket, pulling your cell out with two fingers, completely casual. 

“Thief.” You hiss behind your teeth, noticing how his smile widens slightly. 

“Dante, you need to come by for dinner again at some point, the kids keep asking about you.” 

“That’s cause they know they’ll get pizza when I’m around!” He laughs back, changing his grip on your phone. 

You trust Sammy, you trust her wife, they have three children. Taking stock of the man in front of you, you actually look at him. Clean, in a messy sort of way. White hair, parted down the middle, brushing against the collar of his brightly colored coat. Thick boots with loose laces, his dark pants tucked into them. His belt is gaudy and detailed, like something a Texan would wear. But he has no southern drawl. He smells good, like cologne and something freshly mechanical. 

“Nero is gonna love him!” Sammy calls to you before putting her earbuds back in and continuing her jog down the street. Leaving you and Dante to finish your business. He turns, looking at you for a moment, holding your phone in his hand. Sighing heavily, you nudge his foot back and close the door so you can slide the chain off and open it completely. 

“Take off your shoes.” He hands over your phone and quickly works on untying his boots, hopping on one foot as he does so, nearly falling over until he finally leans against the wall. “Don’t touch my things and don’t touch my son.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” You lock the door before turning and heading back towards your kitchen where Nero is still wiggling in his seat to the music. 

“Mommy, I done!” He says as he sees you, spreading his fingers and waving his hands back and forth, the syrup glistening in the light. 

An hour later, Nero is freshly bathed and sound asleep in his bed, dragon plushie held tightly to his chest as his knees curl around it. He always looks so small when he sleeps, he feels even smaller when he’s pressed up against your chest or your back, light breaths and tiny snorts the only sounds in the room well into the morning.

“He takes a nap every day?” Dante asks as you descend the stairs, he’s sitting on the floor, surrounded by Nero’s toys, simply fiddling with them. 

“He’s three.” He nods.

“He’s a smart kid.”

“He’s incredible, I could not have gotten luckier.”

“He’s got a good mom.”

“Who is still deciding whether or not you need to be stabbed.” Dante nods, moving to put the toys away as you sit down, crossing your ankle over your knee.

“You have to patch up my shirt afterward.” He grins. 

“So.”

“So.”

“Your brother.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna start with our heritage and I’m gonna need you to keep an open mind.”


	3. Blood vs Water

“Hi, Nero!” Dr. Henley smiles at your as he swings his tiny legs against the cabinets underneath the elevated table. You’re sitting in front of him, hands behind where his heels would hit the wood so that the sound is muffled, he doesn’t leave any scuff marks, and he can still wiggle to keep himself occupied. “Hi, mom.” She smiles at you, taking a seat in the spinning chair by the sink as she opens her laptop. “So, it looks like we’re here for some blood draws, wanna tell me about that?” Sarah Henley was a friend of yours from college and when you decided to adopt Nero she was the only logical choice to be his pediatrician, while she stays professional in the office, she always wants to make sure the two of you are safe and healthy. And since this is definitely not something you’ve talked about before, you understand why she’s curious. 

“Well, we may have found Nero’s u-n-c-l-e. But before I let a stranger into his life, I want to make sure it’s a legit relation as opposed to simply looking alike.” Sarah nods her head as she scrolls through Nero’s file. 

“Fair enough, so everything is okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just not about to rock my sons world for just anybody.” She laughs, sanitizing her hands before standing and stepping closer to the two of you. 

“Well, since you guys are here, I might was well check you out. Okay, buddy?” Sarah asks Nero and he grins at her and puffs his chest out, ready for her stethoscope before it even touches his back. You watch as she checks his belly, his reflexes, his ears, before finally getting to his right arm. “Does this hurt?” She asks him as she presses her fingers against the rough skin there. “Does it itch?” Nero shakes his head and looks at the fish painted on the walls, obviously getting restless. “Does mommy put the lotion on you?” 

“No!” He says and you gasp at him. 

“Yes, I do, Nero!” You laugh as he smiles at you, watching Sarah for her reaction as well. 

“You’re a little stinker, aren’t ya?” She says, ruffling his hair as she lets him slip off the table (with help) and watches him climb into your lap.

“You stinkier!” Nero replies, leaning against your shoulder as you wrap both arms around his little body. 

“Alright cutie, I’m gonna go get some stuff and you’re gonna be super brave, right? I’ll give you three stickers if you are!” Sarah heads towards the door to get the supplies needed to draw his blood.

“No cry?” 

“You can cry if it hurts, baby, you just gotta be brave okay?” He nods as you kiss his head, adjusting his little body so his right arm is facing the room while the other is pressed against your abdomen. “You’re always so brave when we come here, though. I don’t think I need to tell you to be brave anymore, you can be brave without Mommy.” 

“But I want Mommy.” He says, clutching your shirt in his little hands. 

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart, I promise.” The two of you sit there, waiting for Sarah to come back, waiting for the results that might change your life.


	4. Momma bear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't proofread my fics, we die like men. 
> 
> Also, Nero's outfit is based on something my younger brother actually wore at that age, no lie.

“You ready to go, cutie?” You ask your son as he looks at himself in the full-length mirror, brushing his hair as best as he can with the soft bristle brush you’d kept from his infancy, he presses really hard no matter what he uses to groom himself so you figured that one would be the best for his sensitive scalp and fine hairs. Once, he got ahold of the comb you keep in your purse and pressed it so hard against himself that it slipped and scratched his face. You’re still trying to teach him that he can’t bully his hair into submission. 

“Look!” Nero shouts as he holds his arms out and spins quickly, showing you his outfit. He wanted to pick his clothes today so you let him. And you were taking pictures for future reference. He’d picked white and red plaid shorts with a white and blue plaid button-down shirt. The sizes and density of the design were completely different on both articles of clothing. His socks were the novelty kind where it looked like a shark was eating his feet and he wore his regular squeaky shoes with the cars on the sides. His hair was as slicked down as it could be without product, laying flat on his forehead and by his ears. Although the back of his head was still a mess since he didn’t spend much time on what he couldn’t see. 

“Who is this handsome boy and where is my son?” You demand, getting on your knees so you can tickle him, grinning as he flails. 

“Mommy! Mommy!” He then pulls away and points a finger at you like he’s going to scold you. “No!” He *is* scolding you. You try very hard not to laugh as he looks in the mirror again and makes sure his hair is still in place. 

“I’m very sorry, sir.” Standing, you bow deeply and press a kiss to the back of his head before turning and grabbing your keys. 

“Is ‘kay.” Nero says before grabbing his favorite truck and walking towards the garage door. Once by the car, you open the door for him as he climbs inside and into his car seat by himself (he preferred to do it on his own) and buckled his belts. You leaned in, tightened and adjusted them before telling him he did a great job and getting into the driver’s seat. Turning on the playlist of his favorite songs (which included songs like Bad Romance, Wild Boys, and Baby Shark) and began driving. You left the volume of the music low enough that you could hear him singing and kept looking back to see him dancing in his car seat while he played with his truck or looked out the window. You were waiting for the day where your son would bring you something other than pure joy and happiness like most parents predicted. But you had yet to look at him and be anything less than overwhelmed with how much you love this child. 

“You know Mommy loves you, right?” You ask him, smiling at him in the mirror. 

“I love Mommy!” Nero responds like it’s fact, without even looking up from his trucks. “Mommy is nice and happy and pretty and nice and happy-” He goes on for a while, absentmindedly, but it doesn’t make you feel any less loved. 

About halfway through another rendition of “I wanna hold your hand,” your phone rings, the ringtone you assigned to Dante’s contact playing through your speakers. Pausing the music, you hit the necessary buttons to pick up. 

“Hi, Dante.” You answer, turning your blinker on so you can merge onto the highway. 

“Unca!” Nero shouts, throwing his head against the cushioned backing of his car seat. 

“Hey, guys!” He responds through the speakers. 

“Are you canceling on us again?” Your hands already poised to take the next exit to Nero’s favorite park, he was so disappointed when Dante took a rain check. 

“No, no, no.” Nero visibly relaxes at that. “I can only afford so much ice cream to get the kiddo to like me.”

“He doesn’t need food, Dante. He just wants to see you.” 

“No ice scream just Unca hug!” Nero agrees, nodding his head firmly. 

“See! Plus, he dressed himself today and I think he has your style.” A smirk graces your features as your son slicks his hair back with the palms of both hands, obviously proud of himself. 

“Yeah? Do you look really cool, buddy?” Dante asks as Nero nods intensely, you remind him that his uncle can’t see him and he needs to verbally respond.

“Smokin style!” He shouts, kicking his feet a bit. 

“That’s my boy!” He laughs, deep in his chest. It makes you pause for a moment, he’s never said that before. 

It’s been a while since Dante came into your lives, nearly a year. He was there for Nero’s fourth birthday, for your own, he’d gone to his preschool events, come to his appointments, learned about his eczema, gotten him his first bike. He knows Nero’s blood type, his favorite color, his favorite monster truck (he took the two of you to a rally once, even got sound canceling headphones for you all). He’s spent more time at your house than he has at his own recently, the three of you only meeting up like this since Dante was away on a job that took a few days longer than expected. 

When Nero was down for his naps or asleep for the evening, you and Dante would discuss his brother. Dante admitted he’d made many mistakes, been a danger to a lot of people, but he was still his brother. And he wanted to help him. One night, you asked him something that had been on your mind for months now, but you’d feared the answer so much that you hadn’t brought it up.

“Do you think he’ll try to take Nero from me?” You’d had to clear your throat afterward, the mere idea making tears swell in your eyes. Dante thought about it for a while. 

“No, I don’t think so. He either knows about Nero and obviously left him in Fortuna, or he doesn’t know. And, as much as I love my brother, being a parent isn’t something I see him doing if he can help it.” You exhale, blinking rapidly to clear your vision as you nod slowly. “Plus, he values his life too much to risk your wrath.” 

A short laugh leaves your lips as you tuck your legs underneath you on the couch. “I’m glad you’ve learned at least that much about me.” 

“Oh, I’ve learned a lot, you’d be surprised.” And you were. He listed your likes, dislikes, nervous habits, body language cues, dominant hand, favorites. Everything that made you flawed and human. And he said it with reverence, like he admired you despite it all... *for* it all. It had shocked you a little and you wondered when this whole thing got more personal and emotional than you had intended it to be. You had looked at the man sitting next to you and wondered if he could actually be the father figure Nero deserved. 

You’re snapped back into the current conversation when Dante asks what your ETA is. 

“We’re actually merging off the highway now, we’ll see you in a few minutes, okay?” You switch your blinker on and change lanes, saying goodbye to Dante and very quickly/easily find the small restaurant you agreed to meet up at. You park, unbuckle Nero and let him climb out on his own. He waits patiently, tugging on your hand as you lock the car and let him lead you the few blocks to the restaurant. “Do you wanna see if you can find him?” You ask Nero, who then reaches for you with his small grabby hands. Smiling, you walk the rest of the way, spotting that vibrant red trench coat and the woman running her fingers along the collar well before Nero does. You watch for a moment, the long-haired brunette obviously very interested in whatever Dante is saying, tilting her head back and laughing. She’s gorgeous. 

“Mommy! Dere Unca!” Nero wiggles until you set him on his feet, watching as he sprints across the sidewalk, jumping up and yanking on Dante’s jacket and throwing the man off balance. He quickly turns and, with his hands under Nero’s armpits, picks up him and tosses him into the air lightly. 

“Gosh, look at your outfit, kiddo!” He grins, tugging on Nero’s shirt lightly so the pattern straightens out. 

“Smokin style!” Nero responds, obviously very proud of himself. 

“Absolutely, you look better than I do!” The woman clears her throat and Dante turns towards her and introduces the two of you as you step up to his side, hand on Nero’s back. 

“This very nice lady is gonna get us a table outside, what do you say?”

“Thank!”

“Aren’t you so cute!” she gushes, tickling his sides, even as he presses his little body closer to his uncle to get away from her hands. “You look just like your daddy.” 

“Dis Unca Dante!” Nero says, smacking the palm of his hand against Dante’s shoulder.

“Oh, yeah? So you guys aren’t together then?” She asks like it’s her business as she points between you and him. 

“That’s not really your business,” Dante smiles politely and asks for a table for three. She huffs slightly, turning quickly, leaving the scent of her shampoo trailing after her. Strawberries and cream.

Your brunch passes quickly, Nero making an effort to keep his mess on his plate and not onto his outfit, which he “shows” Dante twice more. The brunette ends up being your waitress and while she dotes on Nero and Dante like they’re prized guests, Dante has to order things for you because she blatantly ignores you. 

“Mommy, I gotta potty.” Nero says, trying to lift himself out of the restaurant provided high chair. 

“Good job telling us!” You say, moving to get up before Dante stops you. 

“I’ll take him, finish up.” Using an ice cube and a napkin, he quickly wipes Nero’s hands clean and picks him up, encouraging him to politely ask where the bathroom is. Potty training Nero is definitely easier with two people. 

Doing as Dante says, you work on finishing your meal while the boys are inside. The waitress comes up and refills Dante’s water, waiting a moment as you refuse to look at her. “Is he taken?” 

You choke on your mouthful and have to take a drink before responding. “Excuse me?” 

“He doesn’t have a ring.” She finally refills your water and waits expectantly. 

“He said it isn’t your business.” 

“Well, at least he doesn’t have a kid. I can’t stand kids.” She shrugs her dainty shoulders and you immediately put your utensils on your plate. 

“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” you wipe the corners of your mouth, “you’re going to walk away. You’re going to walk away, you’re going to get another person to wait on us until we leave, and you’re going to have a moment just before you answer me right now. And that moment is where you realize you made a mistake, where a shiver runs down your spine as you look at me and realize that a mother will do anything to protect her family. Her child. This is where you realize that I will do plenty to make you regret your behavior. I won’t hurt you. But, as god as my witness, you will regret meeting my family.” With your hands clasped in front of you and your eyes burning into hers, she opens her mouth to speak but decides better of it. “You’re young, you’re beautiful, you have your life ahead of you. Make better choices.” Is your last advice before you resume eating, your hands trembling with anger as she walks away. If you were younger, less responsible, and more impulsive; you would have beaten her ass on every surface of this restaurant.

But Dante and Nero return, placing a smile on your face as you try to enjoy the rest of your meal, ignoring Dante’s question when he notices there’s a new waiter serving you guys. You all finish up and decide to walk around for a bit, deciding to let Nero play at the indoor playground that the shopping mall has. Dante asks about the waitress and you finally answer him once Nero is out of earshot and playing happily. After a while, the conversation turns more... emotional. 

“So, I had something I wanted to ask you.” Dante shifts, his arms spread across the back of the bench you two are sitting on. 

“Shoot.” 

“Do you think I could move in with you guys?” He’s quick to explain himself before you can even open your mouth. “It’s not that I can’t afford my rent, it’s just that I stay with you guys more than not and I’d help you pay bills and I like having you both around and I could have the guest bedroom and I’m a good roommate and-” You clap your hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh at him. 

“I have a second key at home, okay? I hope you know Nero’s gonna jump on you to wake you up.” Dante’s tongue slides across your fingers and you pull back with a squeal, wiping your hand on your pants as you glare at him, a smile still on your face.

“If you think I’ll have it any other way then I god news for you.” His grin reaches his eyes and your chest feels light. Nero is going to be so excited. *You’re* so excited. 

When you first met and tried to beat the hell out of Dante’s shins, you’d never have guessed that this would be in your future; never thought you’d be so excited to have this white-haired, crimson wearing, menace in your life. 

As the two of you figure out the finer details, you find yourself anticipating your future, with this ridiculous man in it.


End file.
